A Restful Weekend

Momma Post: All three of us caught up on our sleep this weekend. Ruby's growing body is demanding a more regime nap time schedule, which allows Matt and me a few extra hours to work in the yard. In between moments of shut eye, we visited with friends and family. Saturday morning we joined Dad and Janet for the March of Dimes' Walk America event. This was followed by a trip to Hillsboro to visit with our friend Ryan's parents, Roy and Sue (Sue made the lovely purple quilt in the middle photo). That evening, Tom, Kristin and Karen came over for an indoor picnic due to the sudden change in weather late afternoon. Thankfully the clouds broke, so our two families could hike up to Fremont for gelato at Parisi's.

This past week Ruby has discovered her two older "sisters", our dog Jack and fat tabby Jabroni. Ruby's eyes follow the pets from across the room and if given the chance she'll reach out and either gently touch or grab a fistful of fur. The older girls are still keeping an open mind on how to respond to the little intruder (i.e., attention stealer), but so far they've resigned the fact that Ruby's here to stay.

Play Ball!!!

Daddy Post: went up to seattle for a ballgame last saturday, but the game itself was really just an afterthought. ruby decided that 5 innings was enough and we headed back to the Hotel Max which is a nice renovated modern hotel that we stayed at. before we left marty decided to get some sushi at the ballpark. she said it was tasty but that is somewhat oxymoronic to me. joining us were our good friends the fitzpatricks, the schauermanns, the alvarezs, the lindbergs and the flecks. a large gaggle to be sure yet everything went smoothly and was quite enjoyable with good company to boot. other than that, we're looking forward to some nice quiet weekends working in the yard and hanging out with each other. ruby will be assigned to weeds as soon as she can crawl. i'll have to work on making sure she doesn't put them in her mouth though. as you can tell by the bottom picture it's getting quite large.

Happy Easter!

From the Left: Carson, Elysa, Conner, and Ruby.

Snake Charmer or Just a Charmer?

Momma Post: Ruby's become acquainted with her stuffed inch worm this week and loves to hug, bite and pull at her new friend's legs. It's great fun watching her become interactive with objects and more interested in her surroundings.

Last Sunday we had brunch with my Uncle Peter and Aunt
Anne, shown here and my cousins, Sarah and Simon. Sarah was just crowned Miss Clackamas County and will go after the Miss Oregon title in June. Simon is now ranked a sergeant in the military. Anne and Peter are a wonderful support to us and we truly enjoy their friendship.

16 Weeks and Counting...

Momma Post: I feel like Ruby is growing up fast and becoming quite a little person, so I have to remind myself that she’s only 16 weeks old. As posted earlier, last week we had a few transitions, although one we didn’t quite prepare for was daylight savings and the loss of an hour. The good news is that Ruby’s naptime has been great at Growing Seeds with typically a two-hour nap in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon or a series of naps throughout the day. I can’t say I was ever strict on enforcing a naptime, but am glad she’s getting some rest. The not-so-good news is that her usual bedtime of 7:00-7:30pm is now roughly 9:00pm. Matt and I will be actively working on an earlier nighttime routine this week. I’d be happy to compromise around the 7:30-8:00pm timeframe for purely a selfish reason – a little more time with her after each work day (especially since I’m getting home around 7:00pm, due to my four 10-hour days).

"Lovin', touchin', sqeezin'..." as sung by Journey would be how I'd describe Ruby's recent motor development. Ruby's really using her hands to touch people's faces and attempt to hold bottles. If I'm rubbing her tummy, she'll squeeze both hands along my forearm. She's been to love certain objects - we'll be writing more about that in a future post. She was fascinated by her toes/feet several weeks ago, but wow, now she can grab them. This is cute, except for when you're trying to change a diaper and you have to make sure appendages aren't punched/kicked into a soiled nappy. Ruby's always been a pretty vocal kid, but now the length and volume of conversation is extending and increasing and she's begun singing to herself in the car (just like mom and dad). I doubt Journey will ever be on her songlist, but we hope to encourage this recent "talent".

The photos above include: Ruby and her pink kitty hat: Cousing Tiffany and her little Tage with Ruby and me at the Urban Grind; and Suzanne and Ruby showing their feelings on posing for the camera.

Father Squared

Daddy Post: so i've finally caught up enough after our whistler trip to get my post up. as you can see, i can now add un-official wedding officiant to my resume. it seemed appropriate i guess considering that the wedding took place on april 1. i was fortunate and honored to act in that capacity for our good friends wendi and che kincaid. the wedding was an intimate collection of friends (and kids) at a beautiful house slopeside in whistler. we had the ceremony in the living room followed by a great meal cooked up by our friend steve. afterwards the downstairs entertainment room witnessed the 2006 version of dance fever. ruby was a trooper the whole time during the drive and the stay. looks like we got ourselves a keeper.

Momma Post: Matt missed mentioning the cute photo of our friend Tommy and his daughter Karen (Karen and her mom Kristin have been our maternity leave buddies) along with Matt and Ruby. Karen and Ruby are just realizing each other and shared in a special tummy time moment up at Whistler.

Big Changes

Momma Post: Upon returning from a Spring Break in Seattle/Whistler, B.C. (I'll have Matt write the post on our trip), some big changes are in store for our family. First, Ruby started day care at Growing Seeds Child Development Community this morning, which is within walking distance of our house and across the street from the Hollywood Library. Matt and Ruby are pictured outside the facility above. She'll be there for only half days this week, then broadening to a three-day week. Leaving her there was uneventful this morning, since she seemed more interested in her new environment (the other babies, white Christmas lights decorating the ceiling and bean bags) then Mom or Dad - reassuring for me. Although, I'm naturally anxious to pick her up this afternoon and find out how her day was.

Secondly, we decided to reclaim a portion of our bedroom and moved Ruby out of the co-sleeper (kind of like a bassinet) and into her crib, which is in the very next room. Ruby did okay with this arrangement last night, but we did bring her into our bed a little earlier than normal this morning due to an earlier wake up (forgot that daylight savings might have had something to do with it).

Third, I go back to work this Friday. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to a more adult-centered routine and interaction, plus being able to go to the bathroom and grab a cup of coffee with a bit more freedom. And, the luxury of completing a task from start to finish. But, I feel I really have the best of both worlds in that I'll have my Thursdays off from work to be with Ruby. Matt will also have one day at home with her, which will be wonderful for both of them. So definitely a few transitions in store, but I'm feeling excited and optimistic.